Andheri Bridge Collapse :- Heavy rain and part of a road overbridge collapsing hit vehicular traffic in Mumbai on Tuesday. The Gokhale flyover connecting Andheri East to Andheri West has been closed, traffic police said. Commuters travelling from Andheri East to West have been advised to follow the following route: Bisleri junction- Teli Galli – Surve Chowk – Andheri subway – SV Road.

A part of the Gokhale bridge in Mumbai’s Andheri collapsed on Tuesday, 3 July, disrupting the local train services in the city. The bridge connects Andheri East to Andheri West.

Mumbai is a city where nothing stops us from getting to work — not bomb blasts, not cloud bursts, not rains that would bring any other city down to its knees. Next morning, while the city looks like a disaster has hit, which it has, most of us have turned up to work, swapping war stories of how we braved the odds to get in.

The Mumbai Police tweeted, “Part of Gokhale Bridge (Andheri bridge collapse), connecting Andheri East to West has collapsed affecting the overhead wires too. Trains on the western line are affected. BMC, Fire Brigade as well as RPF Staff & Officers are deputed on spot for support. Traffic above & below the bridge is stopped for now.”

The first of these players is the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the authority that’s supposed to deliver basic civic amenities to the population of Mumbai. But it’s a bureaucracy that’s stuck in a time warp circa 1950s. Its policies and measures possibly worked well for a city of approximately 4.06 million people in 1965. But today, the population of Mumbai is estimated as being over 21 million people, and the BMC is unable to cope.

The second layer of problems is the elected legislature of Mumbai. The corporator has legislative powers but its execution remains with the unaccountable bureaucrat. In an ideal world, a proactive legislature ought to be able to make some changes. However, given that the elected council for Mumbai is mostly local strongmen who are interested in increasing their own power base, this assumption of “good legislative intent” breaks down. The mayor is elected by the legislative council, and if s/he has a role beyond cutting ribbons, it has not been made clear.

The bridge crash damaged a portion of the platform roof, blocked railway lines and damaged high-tension electric wires and overhead power equipment, said news agency IANS. Over 5 people are said to be injured out of which 2 are critical

Trains on Harbor Line to restart shortly

The Harbor line stretch from Andheri to Goregaon is likely to start in some time. Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal had previously said he was monitoring work on the Andheri road overbridge that collapsed and had directed authorities to speed up repair work to ensure trains could restart along this route.

Directed Officials to Speed Up Repair Work: Piyush Goyal

Union Minister for Railways Piyush Goyal tweeted that he has directed the officials to speed up the repair work and rapidly restore traffic in close coordination with other departments. A few minutes later, he tweeted that he is overseeing the developments in Mumbai closely.

As promised, Harbour line traffic near Andheri, Mumbai has been restored. Railways is working to reinstate all remaining railway sections too. pic.twitter.com/U8WBLdWIdN

Meanwhile, the western expressway in the city was jammed with traffic, after the andheri bridge collapse.

Today, as the Gokhale road-over bridge (Andheri bridge collapse) that connects eastern and western parts of the densely populated suburb of Andheri bridge collapse on the tracks, leading to traffic chaos and bringing Mumbai to a slow crawl, one has to ask this question: Who is accountable for this? It isn’t that rains are unexpected. It isn’t unknown that creaking infrastructure in the city needs to be upgraded. It isn’t a mystery that gutters need to be cleaned and roads need to be fixed. Yet, it is the same story of work not being done. It isn’t done because there isn’t any penalty for non-performance.

We keep talking about adapting the American presidential system for the country. We would be better off borrowing the broad structure of how their cities are run. Elected officials with executive powers to deliver real change.

Some Tweets about Andheri Bridge Collapse

Mumbai is frayed beyond measure. It is held together by prayer, niceness, and band aid. And unless we have some concerted action on the city, Mumbai will crumble into nothingness. i write for @firstposthttps://t.co/IGBI1ZpwAe

Restoration of OHE/tracks near Andheri under taken extensively. Harbour lines in Andheri-Vile Parle section expected to be open by 14.00 hrs. Dn/UP fast lines & STA lines expected to be open by 19.00 hrs. UP & Dn slow lines in this section expected to be clear by midnight today. pic.twitter.com/LJSrmKJp5g

Part of Gokhale Bridge, connecting Andheri East to West has collapsed affecting the overhead wires too.Trains on the western line are affected.BMC,Fire Brigade as well as RPF Staff & Officers are deputed on spot for support.Traffic above & below the bridge is stopped for now pic.twitter.com/LMcKmwyDCh

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